School Days
by dukefan01
Summary: Stories about when Shuhei was a student in the Shino Academy and his friend ship with Kanisawa and Aoga. Summery inside.
1. Introductions

Hisagi Shuhei looked down at the two graves in front of him. He had come to say his finale goodbyes. It had been a long hard road full of pain and sadness, but now he was ready to go. All those years ago when they were saved by the Shinigami taichou and his companions, Shuhei and his two friends decided they wanted to become Shinigami themselves. However fate was not so kind and in the end the other two had died. Shuhei now stood alone. After his second friend had died he realized he couldn't spend any more time putting it off to get stronger. If he wanted to do this, he had to try now and get the skills he needed along the way. That in itself turned out to be easier said than done however. He had gone and taken the Shino Academy's entrance exam and failed. That had been a significant hit to him, but he trained even harder and went back the next year. That second failure nearly destroyed him. Rather than falling into despair he worked even harder, and finally the many hours he put into it paid off. Shuhei passed the exam and was invited to join the academy. From here on out it was just going to get harder. If he didn't do well in the coming years he wouldn't graduate, and even if he did graduate it didn't mean he was guaranteed to get into the Gotie Thirteen. On top of that, even if he could join the Gotie thirteen, he may not get to pick the division he would go into. During their sixth year, the students would take a graduation exam. After that they would apply to the divisions of their choice. Each division only accepted a certain number of recruits every year and would only take the top graduates that applied for them. When all the divisions had filled their quota's, the remaining graduates would either be put in divisions that had not filled their quotas, placed on a possible waiting list, or rejected entirely. He couldn't afford to relax now if he was going to achieve his goals.

That's why he decided that no matter what happens from this point onward, he would not come back to this place that he once saw as home. If he failed he could never face the two friends that believed that he would one day succeed, and if he passed then he would have a new home to go to. Either way, when he left this place he was not returning. He gave a deep bow to both of the graves and felt tears lightly fill his eyes. He didn't want to cry, not in front of them. "I'm leaving now. Thank you both, for everything!" he said, then he turned and ran.

xxxx

Shuhei was out of breath. He had ran for a few miles before he slowed to a walk. He wanted to get to the Seiretei as soon as possible so he could start on his new life. It made a sense of excitement well up inside him. He would finally take that first step in achieving his dream. Finally he arrived. The site of it took his breath away. Having grown up in a higher numbered district, he had never really seen such buildings as the Seiretei had. Sure, he had seen them three times before, when he had traveled there to take the entrance exams, but each time was just as amazing as the first. It didn't take him much longer to arrive at the Shino Academy.

The academy itself was so full of life, it stunned the young man. He had never seen so many people at once. He looked down at himself, not even wearing a uniform yet. He was going to get one at orientation when they showed them to their dorms. Some students that lived nearby were allowed to stay at home, and he new there would be holidays and other days where he could leave if he wished, but for him the dorms would be his home for the next six years. Hopefully the next home would be in a division barracks.

"Hey, you new too?" Shuhei heard a man ask. He turned to see a tall black haired man that towered over him. He didn't wear a uniform either, just a tattered robe like Shuhei had. Shuhei managed a small nod. "I'm Aoga, nice to meet you." he said holding out a hand. Shuhei took it.

"Hisagi." he introduced himself. The man smirked.

"Excuse me, you two are students as well right? Do you know where we're supposed to go?" a pretty young woman asked, coming up to them. She was short with light brown hair in a side ponytail. Shuhei nodded.

"Yeah, we're supposed to go to the classroom where we took the entrance exam." Shuhei explained. The girl smiled.

"Thanks. I'm Kanisawa by the way, it's nice to meet you." she said.

"I'm Aoga, and Romeo here is Hisagi." he said. Shuhei turned red.

"Wha..." he started, horrified. He had no idea what the guy was talking about. The girl smiled uneasily, as if she didn't know how to take the remark.

"Are you two friends or something?" she asked. Both shook their heads.

"Not really, we just met." Shuhei said. The girl nodded.

"I see. Well, why don't we go to the meeting together?" she asked. Shuhei went to speak when Aoga slammed a hand down on his shoulder and put his other hand, much lighter than with Shuhei, on the girls shoulder.

"Sounds great!" he decided. Then the three set off.

 **I have so much other stuff to be doing right now, including another story on this site that needs to be updated asap. However, this is stuck in my head and I really can't do much else until I get started on it. I was reading the new mini chapter from Bleach 13 Blades, and in it Aoga had survived from the attack when they were sixth years. Looking at Aoga and Shuhei's interaction as well as Aoga's words made me feel like the three of them were a lot closer than initially thought. So I decided to write this. There will be a few chapters, I really don't know how many yet, that will be just a few blurbs on Shuhei, Kanisawa, and Aoga's time in the Academy and the friendship that they formed. That is all, please enjoy.**


	2. Starting friendships

Shuhei left the classroom with a heavy sigh. He knew school here would be tough, but he didn't expect just how heavy the work load was. It was now entering their second week as students of the Shino Academy and he had a test on Kido incantations coming up. They were going to have a test on Friday where they were going to have to write down ten random incantations from the first ten of both the bakudo and hado kido's. He didn't want to screw it up, but he was struggling to memorize them with all the other work that was going on.

He had settled in his room with the five other men that slept in the same room. The dorms were set up in rooms for six people, bunks and desks for each of them to work. Shuhei figured it was to build friendship between them, but he really didn't talk to any of them. He assumed he could ask one of them to go over the incantations with him, but he didn't know how to approach them. He assumed he'd just go to the mess hall, grab a quick dinner, and study until he fell asleep.

"Hey, Hisagi right?" came a voice, and he turned around to see the young woman he met on the first day of school. He racked his brain, trying to remember what her name was.

"Kanisawa right?" he asked, and by her bright smile he assumed he guessed correctly. "What can I do for you?" after all, it was strange for someone to approach him. She looked down as if she was debating on talking to him, then looked back up at him.

"I thought maybe you'd be willing to go over the incantations with me. I haven't met anyone here except you and that other boy, and I thought it'd be easier to go over them with other people." she said. The tattooed male smiled and gave her a small nod.

"Sounds like a good idea. Do you know where he is?" he tried to think of the man's name. It was something like 'Aoga'. She nodded.

"I saw him go into the mess hall, I just thought you'd be easier to approach since you two seem to know each other." Shuhei shook his head.

"Not really, like I said, we only met a few seconds before we met you. I'll ask him though." he said, and started into the mess hall, Kanisawa following behind. Aoga was easy to spot as he towered over many of the other students. The two freshmen walked over to him and the guy smiled.

"Oh hey, it's you two!" he greeted.

"Yeah, we were wondering if you wanted to come study with us for the Kido exam." Shuhei offered. The taller boy thought for a second then nodded.

"Sure, sounds fun." he agreed, but then he looked down at his food.

"We'll eat first, then we can go." said the other male, assuming that Aoga didn't want to leave before he had a chance to eat. The taller boy nodded in agreement and Shuhei and Kanisawa left to get food. Aoga saved them seats, but they didn't talk. They didn't have much to say to each other. It didn't take them long to finish eating and before they knew it they were outside again.

"So, where do you want to go?" the girl asked, fidgeting a little. Shuhei realized that he must not be the only one that wasn't feeling awkward.

"How about we sit outside? It's a nice evening after all." he suggested. The other two nodded, liking the idea. They found a large tree to sit under and spread their books and notes out. Aoga got the hang of the kido's quickly, but the other two lagged a little bit behind. It was clear that Aoga was better at memorization.

"You're really good at this!" the young woman said with a sigh after her third failure with one of the incantations.

"Memorization is pretty easy. Although, I really don't know why we have to know these perfectly. I've never seen a full fledged Shinigami use the incantation for any kido under the level of twenty." he whined. Shuhei went to speak but Kanisawa spoke up first.

"They can only use the kido without the incantation because they know it so well. You have to start out with the basics and build up from there." her voice sounded like she was scolding a child and the tattooed teen couldn't help but crack a smile at his unfortunate classmate. He assumed this girl was the more logical and serious type. She was stern but kind.

"I get it, I get it." the other said, a little chuckle as well. Shuhei figured he was a little more laid back, probably a jokester if calling him Romeo had any indication. Yet he seemed like a hard worker and a good guy.

"Oh, it's getting late." Shuhei looked up at the young girls remark to see it was indeed getting dark out. Curfew would be soon. The three stood up, ready to call it a night. "Uhm...thank you both for studying with me. If it's alright, I'd like to study with you two again." she wouldn't look at them as she said it, but looked down. THe two males smiled and nodded.

"Sounds like a good idea." the taller of the two agreed. Then they set off in their separate ways to go get some much needed rest. Shuhei decided that he liked the two and they wouldn't be bad company to work with.

 **Oh my gosh! I didn't think this story would even be noticed! Thank you so much** **Doggyband and Lamker. You two are amazing. I set up the dorms kind of like the barracks in the military. So yeah, the start of their actual friendship. Hope you all like!**


	3. New Tradition

Shuhei sat at his table, between Aoga and Kanisawa, listening to the instructor explain the next project. For the last few weeks the three of them had taken to meeting up and doing school work together. During classes they also began sitting together too. They had been at the academy for almost two months now, and the classes were getting much more interesting. They had learned the first twenty kidos of both Bakudo and Hado; and they started learning zanjutsu as well. From what he had learned by looking at the cirriculum, the whole program was to take place in six years.

For the first year they would learn the basics of kido, hoho, and zanjustu, three of the four basic fighting techniques. They would also learn the history of the Soul Society and the purpose of the Gotie Thirteen. To put it simply, it was the first year where they focused on general academics with the basics of the fighting styles. In their second year they would learn reiatsu control and general duties they would perform. For their third year they would learn advanced skills, like medical kido. In their fourth year they would focus on military drills. The fifth year would be communications with their zanpakuto. The sixth and final year was where they would work on their career development and where they wish to go. There were special classes for those that wanted to go into the kido corps, special classes for the onmitsukido, and special classes for those who wanted to go into the gotie thirteen. In their sixth year they would work on perfecting the skills needed to graduate.

That being said, Shuhei was very frustrated for having to sit in a class that was currently going over hollows. The instructor didn't seem very enthused about the subject either. He looked up at the clock to see the lesson was nearly done. That was one relief to the dark haired boy. The instructor seemed to notice the mood of the room changed, telling him that the class period was nearly over as well. "Very well, that's all for today. I want you each to do a group assignment. Find two people and write an analysis of the different classes of Hollows. Please have it by the next class." he said, then walked out. Aoga stood up, cracking his neck.

"So when do you guys want to work on that?" he asked, naturally assuming the three of them would be a team. They had five days for the school week and two days off. They didn't have every class everyday. Some classes were three times a week, and some two. The ones three times a week were shorter than the ones two times a week. This just happened to be Friday, so they had two days to work on the assignment.

"Can we do it tomorrow?" Kanisawa asked. Shuhei was surprised. Kanisawa usually liked to get work done quickly and efficiently.

"Sure, but what's wrong with tonight?" Aoga asked, just as curious. She smiled.

"I thought we could go out for dinner tonight." she said. The two thought about that for a moment. Since they started school they hadn't once left the Shino Academy grounds. It wasn't because they weren't aloud, but more because they didn't really think about it. Now that they did think about it, they realized they had confined themselves to the areas between classes, the mess hall, and their rooms.

Shuhei debated the idea. It would be nice to go out and relax. He had wanted to explore the Seiretei a little anyways. After all, he planned on making this place his home now. That aside, it would also be nice to go out and get different food as well. He nodded, showing he agreed with the idea.

Aoga thought for a minute too. Overall it sounded nice, and he really wanted to see Shuhei and Kanisawa in casual clothes as well. One could tell a lot about a person by the clothes they choose to wear, and even though he had seen them both in casual clothes once, he knew that those clothes weren't a representation of anything. In the rukongai, you took what you could get to survive. When they had all gathered for orientation they had seen all the students from the higher numbers wearing clothes that were ripped and torn, coming apart at the seems. Now that they were in school and receiving a monthly stipend while they were there, they could all afford to buy things now. So he could truly see what they like. He nodded too.

"Alright, then let's meet up at nineteen hundred at the gate." and with that, Kanisawa left the two males standing there.

xxx

Shuhei had been the first to arrive. He wore a brand new light purple kimono, like the one he had when he was younger. He had never owned new clothes before, so it was nice. He choose it because it was familiar.

"You're early." Kanisawa said. She had a mint green kimono, and Shuhei couldn't help but think that the color worked well on her. They still had ten minutes to wait for Aoga, but that was probably because they had learned to be early for everything, even if it's just meeting up to go have dinner. Shuhei shrugged in response. "That excited?" she asked.

"More or less." he agreed. A few seconds later Aoga strolled up in a large dark blue kimono. It suited him, dark but still clearly visible for all to see. He smiled at them.

"Hey guys!" he greeted. They both nodded in acknowledgment.

"Well then, let's go!" Kanisawa said, taking them both by the hand and leading them. The three of them walked through the streets of the Seiretei, in awe of just how big the walled district truly was. It was stunning and there were full ranked Shinigami and nobles everywhere. The three of them were sure to keep their heads down to not get noticed. They arrived at a small little ramen bar and all sat down.

"You know, I think I kinda like this." Shuhei said as he handed the lady his money.

"Really?" Aoga asked, a little curious. Shuhei didn't seem like the outgoing type at first, but he also looked like he wouldn't follow rules either, and he turned out to be a teachers pet. Not that Aoga didn't like the guy, he was pretty cool.

"Then how about we make this a regular thing? When we're done with classes for the week, we'll come here to celebrate another week we survived." she laughed. The two men nodded, loving it.

 **Hey ya'll, sorry this took so long, but I thought I should explain a little about the different years and that the school is only five days a week with two days for a weekend. I also took so long cause I had to draw a map for the academy and a floor plan because I didn't know where everything would be located. Sorry about that! Hope you liked it! This is them finding time to get along. Next chapter soon!**


	4. Deep Discussions

_Shuhei pushed his back up against the wall, clutching the stolen food to his chest. He tried to slow down his breathing, hoping that he lost his pursuer. His stomach suddenly gave out a loud growl. A hand shot around the corner of the wall and grabbed Shuhei by his arm, ripping a sound of surprise from him. He was hauled forward to meet the angry face of the man who he stole the food from. "You little brat, I told you you'd be sorry if I caught you!" the man hissed. He tugged Shuhei forward and the package fell to the ground. He raised a hand, ready to strike the boy. Shuhei closed his eyes, not wanting to watch._

 _The man let out a_ _supersized yell and Shuhei fell back a step as he was suddenly released. He opened his eyes to see he was no longer alone with the angry shopkeeper. In front of him were two boys, maybe a little older than himself. The first had gray-white hair with a red scarf and a teal kimono and black tie. The second was a heavy set boy with a black hair, a brown kimono, and brown tie. The two boys had darted between them, gathering the package Shuhei had dropped. The light haired boy grabbed Shuhei's arm and they took off running, pulling the startled younger male with them. The shopkeeper gave chase, but then gave up._

 _The two boys dragged Shuhei into a small rundown home, and Shuhei assumed they lived there. They finally released him and returned the package to his hands. "Man, that was rough." the dark haired boy said._

 _"All we had to do was grab the boy and go, we didn't have to confront the man." the lighter haired boy said._

 _"But where's the fun in that?" the other asked. Shuhei looked down at the the package._

 _"Uhm...thank you for that. Would you like some?" he asked, opening the paper so they could see the three rice balls he had stolen from the merchant. Shuhei's stomach woke again at the sight of the food and let out a loud growl._

 _"You have reiatsu?! That's so cool!" the dark haired boy said, reaching for the food. The other boy held up a hand to stop him._

 _"You should probably eat that all. Unlike you, we don't get hungry." said the boy. Shuhei thought for a second._

 _"Without you two I wouldn't even be able to eat, and you can still taste food too!" he said. The other boy nodded at Shuhei's logic._

 _"I'm Torahiko, and this is Gyuji. What is your name?" the light haired boy asked._

 _"I'm Shuhei." Shuhei said. The boys smiled._

 _"Alright then, we'll take the food, but in return you'll have to stay with us and join our family. It's not much, but it helps us survive." he said. Shuhei nodded. All three of them took a single rice ball. "It's a promise then." the boy said, and the two black haired boys nodded in agreement._

"Shuhei, what are you doing?" Shuhei opened his eyes to see Kanisawa and Aoga standing over him, Kanisawa looking worried and Aoga looking surprised. Shuhei sat up to remember that he fell asleep outside in the courtyard under a large tree.

"Sorry, I just dozed off." he said. Kanisawa sighed, as if she was used to dealing with childish behavior. She sat down beside him, and Aoga did as well. Shuhei finally noticed the basket she was caring. "What's that?" he asked. She smiled.

"I thought you and Aoga would be hungry since we're finishing up exams, so I made us lunch." she said. They were in the middle of exams before they would get to go on break and she knew that they were all stressed out. Shuhei especially. She didn't understand why he put so much emphasis in the work. It wasn't like she didn't, she too put her all into it. However it was a little different with Shuhei. If she had to describe it as anything, she'd say he seemed like a man on a mission. She wondered why he joined, and what he got the strange tattoo on his face for. She also realized she didn't know anything about Aoga either.

"Thanks!" Shuhei and Aoga said as the food was pulled out from the basket. They were sandwiches, fresh and homemade. Since they didn't get that anymore, it made it much more enjoyable.

"I didn't really have a family in the rukongai. I just survived on my own." Kanisawa said.

"What are you talking about?" Aoga asked, as the two males gave her a confused look.

"I didn't talk to others because I knew they would just die. One day a group of Shinigami came through our village. They looked so much different than everyone I had seen up to that point. They were so full of life and purpose. I decided that I was going to become a Shinigami too. I wanted to be able to have a purpose, and that was to protect other people, even if it was just my presence. I want to join the Gotie Thirteen." she said. The two males were looking at her surprised. "So now that I told you why I joined the Shino Academy, you tell me why you did." she said with a smile. Aoga scratched the back of his head, as if he was nervous.

"I guess it's because I really didn't have much else to do. My 'family', I guess if you can call them that, are pretty poor and get picked on a lot. I have a dad and two little sisters, so I figured if I made it into the Gotie Thirteen I could have a little money to help them out." he said with a laugh. He hadn't been asked by anyone why he was there yet, so he found answering the question kind of hard. Kanisawa smiled, as did Shuhei. Then they both looked at him expectantly. "So how about you? Come on, spill it!" Aoga laughed. Shuhei sighed.

"I had two brothers. Torahiko was pretty timid, but he could stand up for himself if he found a reason to, and Gyuji had a little bit of a superior attitude at times, but they were good guys. We were out playing one day when a hollow attacked us." he said. Both of the students gave him a surprised look. Even in the higher districts, hollows rarely appeared. "I guess it was attracted to me since I had reiatsu of the group. Anyway, it almost killed us, but the Ninth Division's Captain and a few of his men happened to be passing by. The Captain saved me, and his friends saved Torahiko and Gyuji. I decided I'd join the ninth division and serve him." Shuhei said. The other two looked stunned, then Aoga started laughing.

"You joined to serve the man who saved your life as a kid?" he asked. Shuhei frowned.

"Yes. I was from a high numbered district. Most people didn't even look your way. This man saved three outcasts like us who people hated, and showed us our lives meant something. He was so cool too! This tattoo is actually his. I got it as a promise to become just as strong as him." Shuhei said with a smile. Aoga clutched his sides as he laughed.

"Were you drunk when you got that?" he asked.

"Stop, I think it's sweet." Kanisawa said.

"So, you're two brothers couldn't come to the Shino Academy?" Aoga asked. Shuhei looked down, and Aoga didn't need any more words to understand. Not all souls survive long in the rukongai. He assumed they both passed on, and that's why Shuhei seemed so hell bent on rising high in the ranks at the academy. Like Kanisawa and himself, they had no where to go if they failed. After all, how could he face the family he was trying to support if he failed out?

Kanisawa saw where the conversation had gone and realized something needed to be done. She stood up and put a hand on Aoga's head. "What...?" he started.

"Let's see how well you guys have been working on your shunpo. Tag, your it!" she said, then she was gone. Both the males sat in confusion for a second, then Aoga recovered first and slapped Shuhei on the back.

"Your it now!" he laughed, then he too moved away. Shuhei chuckled a little at not being prepared and stepped into a shunpo as well, headed straight for Kanisawa. He was a little faster than her and easily reached her, tapping her on the top of the head. Kanisawa gave him and Aoga a chilling smirk and the two men fled.

"Not so fast! Bakudo number one, sai!" she yelled. Both males fell over paralyzed and she gave each one a light thump upside the head.

"That's cheating!" Aoga whined. Kanisawa just smiled though. She wondered what they could do to spend more time together. She had heard of soldiers in training environments that got very close in a short amount of time, but then suddenly drifted apart. She didn't want that to happen to them, so she decided that they would have to do something for the upcoming break, something that would keep them together for just a little longer.


	5. Vacation goals

"What?" Shuhei and Aoga asked in surprise. Kanisawa smiled.

"We'll be on break for a week, so I thought we'd take a three day vacation! I already paid for everything so you both have to come!" she said firmly. The two males looked surprised.

"I have no problem going Kanisawa, really. It's just I can pay my own way." Shuhei objected. Aoga nodded, agreeing with the other male. Kanisawa put her left hand on her hip and sighed.

"I guess if your going to be that way, then you two pay for our next vacation." she said.

"Next?!" the males asked. Kanisawa sighed.

"Yes next, I mean really! Do you two not like vacations or something?" she asked. Kanisawa had put a lot of thought into it and decided that a nice break from things were what they really needed. It had taken her quite a bit of time to find the little hot springs inn on the far side of the Seiretei that she had, but she hoped it would be worth it in the end. After all, she really just wanted to spend time with them.

"NO!" both males said quickly, worried that their seemingly reluctance offended the female of the group. Kanisawa smirked in triumph.

"Then what's the problem?" she asked. Knowing they had no choice but to cede both males bowed their heads in defeat.

"Nothing." they said. She nodded.

"I didn't think so! So we'll meet at the gate an hour after our last class and I'll lead from there." she decided. The two dark haired males nodded in agreement. With that Kanisawa left, probably to pack her bags.

"Where does she plan on going?" Aoga asked. Shuhei shrugged, he knew just as much as the other male. "I guess a vacation every once in a while can't hurt though." he added. Shuhei nodded. They had been together for one semester so far, but it felt like they had been friends forever. It was nice, they finally each had people to rely on once again. Shuhei sighed.

"I guess we should pack now then." he suggested.

xxx

Kanisawa was waiting, wearing a dark red kimono and standing with a small bag in front of her as the two males came up. Shuhei wore dark blue this time and Aoga had on light green. She couldn't help but wonder what it would look like when they all finally get to wear the black uniform of a shinigami. "Took you both long enough." she said. Aoga saw she was staring at Shuhei and smirked.

"Yeah well Romeo here couldn't decide what school books to bring or leave behind." he said. Shuhei looked at him, slightly offended.

"I wasn't the one to hold us up, and why do you keep calling me that?" he asked, not liking the nickname that Aoga called him from time to time.

"Why? Because you're not that bad looking according to the girls who follow you around." he said. Kanisawa seemed surprised.

"There are no girls!" Shuhei said in frustration. Aoga shrugged. Kanisawa started to chuckle. Sighing in exasperation, Shuhei turned to the planner of their trip. "So where are we going?" he asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see." she said, and then she started walking. The two adjusted their bags and followed.

xxx

"We're staying here?!" asked the two. They stood outside of an inn with a hot springs. The young woman nodded before starting inside. The two followed her to the desk.

"I have a reservation for Kanisawa." she said. The older woman looked at her books, then nodded. She turned around to find something, then turned back to the three of them.

"Very well, I will show you to your room." she said. Shuhei paused. Room, singular. There was only one? Surly Kanisawa had gotten two rooms, one for each of them right? But their stipend from school wasn't that much. He looked at Aoga, but the man didn't really have much of a reaction. He assumed he must be thinking about it too much. They arrived at at door that the women opened. "This is where you will stay, dinner will be brought in shortly." and with that the woman left.

"Wait, we're all in the same room?!" Aoga asked, stunned. Shuhei was shocked too.

"Of course! I can't afford more than one room alright! It's fine isn't it? You should really take lessons from Hisagi, he seems alright with it." Kanisawa said firmly. Shuhei had actually not known what to be about it.

"Then we'll just go get another room." Aoga said quickly, turning to go back to the desk.

"I had asked already about a second room. The inn is filled this week, turns out the other students had the same idea that I had." Kanisawa said. Aoga froze. Shuhei however had decided that it wasn't a big deal. After all, if Kanisawa was alright with it then it should be fine. Aoga seemed to come to the same conclusion since he returned as well.

After the three of them had completed their homework, the inn keeper brought them dinner. As soon as she finished, Kanisawa climbed to her feet. "I think I'm going to go in the hot springs." she decided.

"Sounds like a good idea!" Aoga said. Shuhei nodded in agreement too. The three of them went to the changing rooms, Kanisawa going right and the boys going left. After they showered off and wrapped a towel around their hips, the two males came out into the spring to see Kanisawa waiting, a towel covering her whole body.

"Wait, what are you doing on the men's side!?" Aoga practically screamed.

"It's a unisex spring! I couldn't afford the separated one alright!" she said. The two males nodded slowly as they got into a small pool. There was no ceiling, so they could easily see the stars and the moon in the night sky. Before any of them noticed it, they had all fully relaxed in the water for the first time since school had started.

"You know, I made a decision." Kanisawa said.

"Huh?" the males asked, looking over at her to see what she wanted to say.

"You work so hard to get in the highest positions to pick the division you want to go to. I think it's rather admirable that you want to serve the man who saved you and your family. I decided I want to help you! I will fight by your side in the ninth division." Kanisawa said. Shuhei found himself stunned.

"W...what?!" he gaped.

"I don't want us to go our separate ways when we graduate, and you seem so set on getting into the ninth. I don't have a preference where I end up, only that I get to stay with you." she said, referring to both Aoga and Shuhei. The males were stunned. "Because of that, I will work hard so I can be in the top ten percent and choose where I end up. I will stay by your side and help keep you both from hurting yourselves. So I will go to the ninth. I may even become an editor for the magazine they run." she said with a laugh. Shuhei was floored.

"Same here, I can even right and advice column! The 'teach me Aoga-sensei' column!" Aoga said with a laugh.

"What a lame name." Shuhei said with a laugh, finding his voice again. The three of them laughed.

"So it's settled then. The three of us will strive to be the top of the class so we can all join the ninth together!" Aoga said. The other two nodded.

Aoga smiled. It was nice, to finally have something to strive toward again. He looked at the two who had become a family to him, and knew he wanted to serve his career by their sides. They hadn't even known each other that long, but the funny thing about training to be in the military was you tend to make strong bonds fairly quickly. They had all known that they would spend their days facing danger and the possibility of dying was very real. Because of that they wanted to make some connection while they could.

 **Hi! I wrote this with my own experiences of military training in mind, so I'm not sure how well it carried over! I actually had two friends in mind of my own from training. I only knew them for a week before the three of us were considered inseparable by the others around us. It's been three years since I had last seem them, but I still check in on them when I can. They are married now, they actually got married after our training event that was only 3 months, and after three years they are still happy and are having their second child. Just thought I'd share that with you! P.s. there is a reference to Shuhei's 'teach me Shuhei-sensei column'**


	6. A Friday together

The kids in the Shino Academy weren't exactly the nicest people to be around. Many of them were children of lesser nobles and even more were from the lower numbered districts. They were privileged children who got to live in a better environment. They tended to look down on the other students as less fortunate and not worth their time. Those from the higher numbered districts had bad mouths and tempers. They were rude and didn't care about offending you or not. Most were pretty closed off, choosing only a select few to talk to and brushing off the others. It was how you survived in the higher districts after all. Shuhei didn't take too much of an offense to it, it was just how they were all raised. He was the same as well. Since they had gotten back from their small vacation he talked to a few of the students, but he didn't really build a relationship with them. He was still closest to Kanisawa and Aoga.

Shuhei knew that they were working with a new purpose now. They had a firm goal. All three of them wanted to end up in the ninth division. That meant they had to graduate in the top ten percent so that they could choose what division they went in. However they knew that even then it wasn't a guarantee. If a Taichou's attention was caught by them, they could affect where the students got placed. The trick to this was doing well without attracting any particular individuals attention, unless it was the ninths.

That was why he was sitting in the library by himself. He didn't want to get behind the others and he had to be able to get there by his own strength, or he couldn't face any of them. "Hisagi, your here late." he turned to see one of his instructors standing behind him. He nodded.

"I thought I would get a little extra studying in today." he said with a small smile. The Instructor looked around the room.

"That's odd, I don't see Kanisawa and Aoga with you today." he noted. Shuhei turned a little red at that. Were they that much of a trio that even the instructors thought they were practically joined at the hip? He nodded.

"Yeah, I thought I would do this alone." he said. The Instructor nodded.

"That is indeed admirable, but Hisagi you should also keep in mind that you shouldn't do everything alone." he said. The young man gave him a confused look and the instructor smiled. "Even the Taichou's and Fukutaichou's don't do everything alone. They have people that they delegate responsibility to because they can't do everything alone. That is why we work in teams. You three do well driving each other." he said. Shuhei nodded to show he understood. The instructor nodded and left, glad to impart a little knowledge on a promising student. Shuhei stretched out, figuring he was about done for the day anyway.

The dark haired male left the library, heading back to his dorm. "There you are!" Kanisawa came around him so that she was now in front of him, before tapping him on the forehead. He blinked in surprise.

"What was that for?" he asked. She frowned.

"You left us behind again didn't you?" she asked. She knew that Shuhei was determined, and that he would go off to get extra training and studying alone. It was bothersome. Not because he was leaving them behind, but that he didn't seem to want to trust them to help him all the time. There was nothing wrong with being independent, but in the military you had to rely on those around you. Who else would watch your back for you? He gave her a sheepish look.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Where's Aoga?" he noted the giants absence. She shrugged.

"Something about a club." she said. There were a handful of clubs in the Academy. The idea was to get similar students to build different kinds of bounds. They were culture related clubs, with a few that focused in different fighting schools to help the students improve. Aoga was in a club that focused on the practice of Kido. The two of them hated to admit it, but he was much more skilled in that department then them. However every time he brought it up, they just beat him down a few pegs in kendo. He probably had a club meeting that he didn't tell them about before hand. Shuhei sighed.

"Should we wait for him?" he asked. It was Friday after all, so they had their weekly meal night. Kanisawa nodded.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be fare for us to go ahead without him. After all it's all of our thing." she said. The two walked over to the tree that they studied under in the courtyard, deciding to wait there for the taller male. They leaned back on the tree trunk and looked up at the patches of blue sky that managed to slip through the branches and leaves. A few students scurried by, but most were not out. They talked a little about classes and their opinions on the lessons.

"Hey, didn't wait long did you?" Aoga asked, coming over. They both shook their heads. "Good, sorry. We ran a little late tonight." he said. Shuhei and Kanisawa stood up.

"I'm not sure about Hisagi, but I didn't mind at all." Kanisawa said. Shuhei shook his head.

"Me neither." he admitted. It was nice to spend some time with just Kanisawa once in a while. She was calmer and more down to earth then Aoga at times. Aoga gave them a mock look of disappointment.

"Oh, so you wouldn't mind if I left, then you two could go out on your little date?" he asked in a playful tone.

"You know the rules Aoga, we have to go out in..." Shuhei started, but the rest of the statement sunk in. He turned bright red, and Kanisawa blushed a little as well. "You jerk!" he hissed. Aoga burst out laughing.

"Relax, I'm just teasing you guys. Let's go." he said.

"Then you wonder why we like to spend time without you." the tattooed male mocked as they headed out.

 **So, when I was in AIT I had two people that I was always with. They are really good friends of mine still, after a few years. We were a trio. It was to the point that the first sergeant and the company commanded, who were in charge of over three hundred individuals, knew. The one time we had to use different partners for a project the first sergeant even came over, saying he was shocked we weren't working together. So yeah, it happens.**


End file.
